To The Spirit Realm
by Dracosilverwolf
Summary: Chihiro, after five years of being at home in her new house, suddenly begins to get messages from the spirit realm. She goes back to find the entire place under the rule of an evil king, who is more powerful than any spirit in the world. His only weaknes
1. Chapter 1

D/N: I don't know why, but I like writing stories after the actual anime/manga-thing that I'm looking at. It gives meh more freedom. .. and I don't like to write slash, 'cause I can't help but make it filled to the brim with lemony goodness. XD

This one, as was said in the description, is a Spirited Away fic, five years after Chihiro leaves the bath house.

Chihiro stared out of her bedroom window, contemplatively. Just the other day she had turned fifteen, and yet she still remembered what had happened five years ago, in the spirit world. The purple hair band that no-face and Yubaba's transformed baby made for her was hanging off of a peg on her wall. The moon shone bright over the forest that was nearby, illuminating her room just enough.

She curled up in her bed, moonlight falling in a bright slant across her face, and yanked the blue and white covers over her body; it still wasn't warm enough to put them away. Slowly, Chihiro fell into a fitful sleep.

_She dreamed that she was walking across a green field, the grass high, tickling the bare skin of her legs. The sky was a clear blue, and her parents walked before her, admiring the scenery. Over and over again, she tried to convince her parents to turn back; she remembered what would happen to them, what spell would be placed on them if they went in and ate the food. As always, they did not listen to her. It was before she had changed, then. They began to listen to her once she proved herself responsible._

_For a moment, as they crossed the 'river', she considered leaving them there. _

_Considered just running back out to the car and getting the picnic basket that her mother had packed before, but neglected to bring with them. She shook her head; she couldn't leave them to suffer. _

_Chihiro felt apprehension grow in her heart as they entered the small town, her father sniffing the air. She paused, and then gripped the back of her parents' shirts, not wanting this to get any further along. She tried to tell them what would happen to them if they went and ate the food, but it was if something soft and cloth-like was being forced into her mouth, blocking her words. She couldn't warn them. _

_Wildly, she looked to either side, already suspecting what she would see. Two large spirits were beside her, one on each side. They both had one doll-like hand on her mouth, pressing the words back. Their other hands worked at her own, trying to pry her fingers from the cloth of the shirts, trying to make her let go. Chihiro tried to scream, but the spirits muffled the sound. _

_Her hands were pried away, and the spirit on her right whispered, as her parents moved away, towards the food, "We want them. You cannot have them!" _

_The other one added, "They belong to us. You go home, go and stay away from here. You've already done enough damage."_

_Other spirits had begun to crowd around her, pressing her away from her parents as they moved further and further away. _

Chihiro sat up with a gasp, sweat pouring off of her forehead. She sighed, and lay back on her pillows once more, breathing heavily. It all was only a dream, a very bad dream. A horrible dream, of course; it had been a long time since she last had such a dream.

She sat up once more on the edge of her bed, and looked at her alarm clock; 4:32 AM, it blinked. She frowned, and walked over to her desk, where paper, pencils and books were laid out, helter-skelter. School had ended a few weeks ago, and she still hadn't the time to clean all the materials off just yet. One of the books marked 'Journal' lay deep under a pile of papers, which threatened to scatter all over the floor as she tried to rescue the one book from under them. Chihiro sat at her desk chair, and turned to the back, where she kept a record of when she had the dream, just to see how bad it was.

Tallying up the times from the past month, she counted fifteen, total. She whistled, to herself, and added the new date to the list. Recently it seemed that she had been having the dream more often again, like when she first came back from the spirit world. Could that possibly mean something? She tapped her pencil against the desk of the table for a moment, and then began to organize her desk, for lack of something else to do with her hands. She could visit the forest again tomorrow, after she had finished with her chores.

D/N: I know it's a bad ending, but I'm feeling kind of lazy right now. XD

Okay, so, what'd y'all think? Hmm?

Read and review, and tell me if I should continue this, 'cause I might not think this is worth my time until you do.


	2. Chapter 2

D/N: I hope everyone liked the crappy prologue. So, let's continue on now with Chihiro's tale. watches Spirited away again

Disclaimer: Gee, I forgot to do one of these last chapter; I hate 'em so.

Anyway. Spirited Away is property of Miyazaki-sama, Disney, and Studio Ghibli. bows

The next morning, Chihiro hurried to finish her chores as fast as possible. She had made up her mind; she was going to go back for a visit. Surely Yubaba would allow her to leave, as long as she didn't stay past when they lit the lamps. When her mother asked why she was in such a hurry, Chihiro only smiled at her, and told her, "I wanted to go take a ride in the woods before the weather gets too hot, and we go on vacation."

Her mother smiled, "If you had said that earlier, I would have let you go. There's no need for all of this to be done today, you know. Go on now. You can finish what you're doing later, or tomorrow."

Chihiro put down the laundry basket she was holding, and gave her mother a brief hug, before running into the kitchen to gather lunch and drinks for the ride, and gave her mother another hug, cheerily calling, "I'll see you later, mom! I don't know when I'm going to be home, though."

Her mother called, "Try and be back before nightfall."

"I will!"

Chihiro pulled her black and blue bicycle from out of the garage, and wheeled it into their side yard, where the suburbs met the forest. She hopped onto the bike, and rode down through the woods and to a small path. It directly led down to the gate to the spirit realm. She had often only stopped before the gate, to stare into the dark depths, and wonder where her friends had gone, what had happened to them. Before, she still had been frightened of the prospect of being stuck there again. What if she was never to return? She shook her head; it wasn't good to think of that stuff.

While she rode, she thought about the dream. It was odd, that she should dream it so much now. Yet there was something wrong. The spirits spoke of different things when she had first dreamt of them; they had tried to keep her, to make her stay. "You've already done enough damage." She murmured, the words coming back to her as though through a fog. A squirrel streaked out of the path laid out before her, flying up a tree and sitting up there, glaring down at her and chattering angrily, as though she had wronged it. Chihiro momentarily looked up at it, but then looked back toward the path, not wanting to be flipped over by an exposed root or something like that.

It wasn't long before she came before the entrance to the spirit world, the place where her father had entered so long ago, herself following him and her mother almost reluctantly as the wind pulled at her clothes and hair, as though urging her to go through. The small statue was still there in the middle of the path, a curious little thing, worn down to smooth stone by the elements in only five years. She couldn't remember what it had looked like before, when she had first saw it, and absently picked a withered vine off of the top; the rest had fallen off already, lying discarded on the ground nearby.

Her brown eyes regarded the death of the plant as nothing, and leaned her bike up against the statue; she was sure that no one would try and steal it. Never had she seen anyone here before, not since that day with her parents. She hitched the backpack up, momentarily, and then entered. The wind didn't tug at her clothes or hair. The animals of the forest, once she has passed over the threshold, faded to nothing. All she could hear was the soft impact of her shoes upon the stone, the soft breeze of her own breathe, and the steady thump of her heart which grew faster as she entered the train station.

Chihiro froze as soon as she saw the train station. The stained glass windows that normally changed the floor into a collage of different colors were broken, the fragments lying in a semi-circle around the windows themselves. Some of the stone pillars were cracked, others toppled over into small stone fragments. What benches she could recognize were blackened, as though the wood had been burned, the stone floor smeared with black marks. Something _was_ wrong.

Sunlight streamed through the doorway at the other door, and Chihiro forced herself forward into the meadow, the back pack with her lunch bumping against her as she hurried out. Outside, the meadow was dead and brown, the flowers dried out husks, mere dust once her foot landed on it. She remembered how it used to be a large meadow full of green grass and blooming flowers.

Chihiro continued on, worry gnawing at her heart; there was something terribly wrong in the spirit world, as if some large being had crushed the life out of the entire place. The air was musty and thick, and the dust in the air coated her tongue with an unpleasant tasting paste as she breathed in through her mouth. She grimaced, and drank some of the water she had packed earlier, grateful for the fact that she had packed it, and pulled the front of her shirt up to cover her nose and mouth as she walked.

Brown clouds of dead grass and flowers puffed up with her every step. The rocks forming the river from before were coated with the dust also; the water had stopped flowing. What exactly had happened in the five years that she had been gone? What had become of the spirit world?

She walked up the stairs, cracked and treacherous, and stopped for the third time since she came here, shocked beyond belief. The town, the spirit town, was a wreck. Buildings lay toppled everywhere, some of them having a wall or two still standing, but, for the most part, were destroyed by something large and that had fire on their side. Chihiro hesitantly walked forward; she could see the bath house in the distance, still standing, for the most part.

Carefully, she stepped over broken pieces of buildings and materials of all kinds, careful not to trip and get hurt by the sharpened pieces of rubble. She slipped, and nearly impaled herself on a wooden stake. Had it not been rotten and riddled with termite-holes, she probably would have died right then. Using a shelf of rock to heave herself up, Chihiro groaned. The bath house seemed to move further and further away with her every attempt at getting closer. Frustrated, she sat upon the rock she used to stand, glaring at the bath house irritably. Her good mood could only stretch so far, and now was being pushed to beyond its limits.

Chihiro, hungry, pulled a rice ball from her backpack and slowly ate it, wondering what she should do. She wanted to help; she wanted to find Haku, Granny, Kumaji, even Yubaba. There was something bad going on here, and it wasn't being solved. Could that be the reason for her dreams? If so, then someone must be here, waiting for her. The air here was stifling and heavy upon her body, and it was starting to get hot as the sun creeped out from behind the thick, grimy clouds.

She looked up, slowly, and saw birds wheeling over the bath house, thick black smoke rising form the tower that led from the boiler. Chihiro nearly fell off the rock in her scramble to stand up to get a better look, hoping that her eyes weren't playing a trick on her. There was definitely smoke rising from the chimney far ahead; Kumaji could still be in the bath house!

Chihiro, now ignoring the potential danger that she was in, she ran through the rubble, snaking through the larger pieces, her mind telling her she _had_ to get to the bath house. There was no question about it, and she only had a few hours to do so, before nightfall, the traditional time when the lanterns were lit. She didn't want to stay past that time; she didn't want to be stuck here for another span of time like before.

Suddenly, it felt like she was moving through molasses, her limbs burdened with something heavy. Chihiro gritted her teeth and pressed on; she had come too far to be disappointed now by something as simple as heavy air. The further she went, the heavier the air came. It went as far as to begin to press against her lungs, making it even harder to breathe than before. Soon, it came to be that she couldn't breathe at all as she struggled on, by each and every pained inch. Her head swam from the lack of oxygen; if she didn't get any fresh air soon, she'd probably faint.

Just as suddenly as she had entered the area, she was thrown out again. Chihiro, already used to using much more force than normal to walk, was thrown forward and into the ground, her head banging painfully into a rock; she blacked out right then, lying on the rubble on which she had landed.

D/N: Euh, I think I'm making this story move too fast, but now I don't really care .. . Fweee! does the twirly dance


	3. Chapter 3

D/N: ' I'd put the names of some of my reviewers here, but I forgot them. .. . This computer doesn't have internet! I'm sorry! Anyway; a little side-note; all of the mythical creatures that I mention are, most likely, real (a.k.a.; they are actual mythical creatures, not real creatures.) Kinnara are Thai, and a few others, The Phantom Cat is Japanese, and Fenrir is from Norse mythology (Fenris, etc.). The spirit realm is full of happy little surprises. And just because they've been killed or something doesn't mean the same thing has happened in the spirit realm. So, have fun. And help me if I mess up anything. I'm relying completely on Carol Rose's "Giants, Monsters and Dragons." Goddess bless her for writing that book!

Disclaimer: I'm going to put these every couple of chapters now just to say that I DO NOT own Spirited Away. I wish I did, but wishing is as close as I'll get.

Chihiro stared at the man, and whispered, "Haku."

The man's face split in two with a wide grin. "It's nice to finally be remembered. Chihiro, how have you been?"

"What happened to you?" She whispered, voice hoarse, "I wasn't gone for that long, was I?"

He shook his head, "Probably not. This is only a disguise. By tomorrow morning, since I'm so far away from the Children of Fenrir's stronghold, I'll probably be back to how you remember me." He threw another log onto the fire, "There's a lot you have missed, you know."

Chihiro nodded, staring into the orange flames of the fire contemplatively. She poked at the embers for a moment, and then asked her friend, brown eyes wide, "What happened to the ocean, Haku? What happened to the train that ran through?"

Haku's face hardened into a mask. Chihiro almost regretted asking that, seeing her friend's face transformed into something so ugly, but then the lines smoothed out. "The Children of Fenrir took the water for their own purpose. I have not a clue what they're doing with the water, though, and the train they destroyed; they didn't want anyone escaping from their clutches.

"Without the water, a forest sprang up where the water should be." Haku seemed to see the incredulous look on Chihiro's face, and put in, "The spirit trees shoot up like weeds. They mirror the spirit energy of the world."

Chihiro threw the stick into the center of the fire as flames licked too close to her hand on the wood, and brushed the dirt off of the palm of my hand. "The dreams," She blurted, "What were they about?"

Haku frowned, "What dreams?"

"The ones that called me here. It was like the dreams I had after coming here, but they wanted to push me away, as though there was something here that I shouldn't see."

"Someone is expecting you, then. All I know was that I was flying above this forest when I felt a human cross the boundary we had set up to keep the humans out, so that no one would get hurt. Only a few humans would want to cross the line, of course, and those were the ones that could help us." He frowned.

Chihiro contemplated asking him something else, and then decided not to, not wanting her friend to frown again like before; it was too horrible. Haku touched her arm as she looked down at her feet, "What's bothering you?"

She looked up into Haku's olive eyes, startled, and was surprised at how young he was now. Chihiro shook the thought from her head, and shrugged, "I was just thinking about the creatures we saw in the forest today. They weren't here before, were they?"

Haku leaned back against the wall, letting Chihiro's arm go, "Some of them. The rest came here from the souls of humans. The Children of Fenrir tried to control them, but they proved to be too powerful.

"They were all let loose in these forests, in hope that they might flush the 'rebel spirits' out of hiding. Most are kind spirits or intelligent enough to realize that they should leave us alone. Others we hunt down." Haku snapped his fingers, "That reminds me." He handed Chihiro a small dagger made of a blue-green metal, "That's a spirit blade. The metal is rare, you know, and will slice through the flesh of anything from this world easily. If you get separated from me or the person that's supposed to be watching you, then just keep that in your hand at all times and holler as loud as you can. Someone will find you." He sighed, and stirred some the embers, "Hopefully the right people."

Chihiro watched Haku, something strange stirring within her, and then she whispered, "Why me?"

One of his eyebrows lifted in a question, and then he smiled at her, "You broke Yubaba of her powerful hold; anyone who is able to do that can easily unseat the Children of Fenrir."  
"But I'm not strong enough! If they try to attack me, I won't be able to fend them off, you know."

Haku's smile grew wider, "You know, that's why I think you'll be able to defeat them." He held up one hand as Chihiro tried to protest, "Let me finish. The Children of Fenrir think they are the best of the best, that humans would never bother them. In that respect, they never developed their senses to include humans. You are invisible in this world, as long as you retain your humanity. The only way you can lose it is to die here." He hesitated, and then asked, "You know how my people, the spirits, are nearly invisible in your world, save for the few that are gifted?"

Chihiro nodded; there were always reports of people talking with spirits, people that saw spirits in their homes. "But they are viewed normally as crazy."

He shrugged, "That's the way that we are viewed, the spirits who can see people. None of the Children have the special sight. That lack of sight will be their weakness."

All Chihiro could do in answer to his revelation was to stare at him, unbelieving. He leaned comfortably against the wall, "Get some sleep, Chihiro. You look tired."

She thought it was the perfect thing to do. Once her mind had been drawn to the topic of sleep, her limbs seemed to scream with cramps. Chihiro winced as one made a violent complaint as she moved into a more comfortable position, and simply went to sleep.

D/N: Euh, sorry about the short chapter. So you know more. Of course, there's more to learn, but Haku isn't talkative enough to give it ALL away. Not yet. And don't blame Haku for being out of character; he just hasn't had anyone to talk to for a really long time. I think he talked to himself. --imagines Haku walking through a forest, waving hands around wildly and having a rather violent conversation with himself. .. bursts out giggling--


	4. Chapter 4

D/N: So, back to the story now. We left off with Haku and Chihiro taking a nap in their small shelter. Let's continue on, then! Oh, and this might turn into Haku/Chihiro. She's older now, so maybe it would be fun. When she was younger, it'd probably seem like rape. XD Oh, and Chihiro was ten in Spirited Away, right? I'm not entirely sure. I think it was mentioned at one point, but I don't have the case or anything. So. .. I'll rely on anyone who reads this and takes the time to comment! Thanks! Chocolate to anyone who helps! (Virtual chocolate, of course. I can't send chocolate through the computer screen. .. yet. )

They hiked for another two days. In that time, Chihiro noticed that Haku had become nearly his old self again, the person she remembered from the time of Yubaba, when she had been ten. He also didn't talk as much anymore, as if he had exhausted all of his conversational abilities in that one night by the fire, which made the traveling a rather lonesome chore despite his presence. She also noticed that he hadn't tired to touch her again, as though getting too close to her would somehow do something to them. Deep down, she felt hurt at the fact that he had avoided touching her at all; she, after getting over the initial shock of finding out everything, actually had enjoyed such physical contact. Perhaps her love for her friend dug deeper than the bond they had shared when she was younger. Every time she thought of that touch on her arm, her heart speeded up and she blushed deeply, falling back a bit so that her friend couldn't see, trying to focus more on her cramping calves. That didn't help. She, instead, counted the trees that they passed, which bored her nearly to tears, but kept her mind busy.

After a while of walking Haku held up one pale hand, and Chihiro stopped, startled. He glanced at her over one shoulder, "I can tell you're in pain. We'll rest here for a while, and then continue on when you've rested for a bit." Haku sat upon a log with a sigh, and pointed into a clearing, "There's a small river over that way. The current isn't very strong; it'd be the best to soak your calves in the water."

Chihiro blinked, and squinted at the clearing. Her eyes caught the glimmer of sunlight on moving water, and she nodded at her friend, "Thanks, Haku." She didn't even try to wonder how Haku knew of her ailment; he probably wouldn't tell her.

He offered her a half-smile, and leaned back against a tree trunk, "Come back here if you're hungry. If you see anything strange, either shout or run as fast as you can. I'll always be able to find you."

Quickly, before Haku could see her blush again, Chihiro turned away, and ran for the river, half of her wanting just to stay and talk with him and the other half wanting to get into the cool-looking waters to soak. It had been a long day, and she hadn't the time to bathe all that much. It was rare that they'd stop long enough by a river or stream bank long enough for her to have a quick dive into the water to, at least, get off a few layers of dirt and old sweat. Chihiro dropped to her knees at the river's edge, and splashed water happily up onto her face, feeling the dirt and muck from their journey melting off with the water. She scrubbed at her arms and exposed part of her legs, and then turned around to glance at her friend. Haku had his back to her, as though reading her mind.

Chihiro stripped off her clothes, and dove into the water, nearly crying out as her body hit the frigid water. It was colder than she had thought, and deeper. Haku had been right about the fact that the current wasn't strong, though. She barely felt the water tug at her body. Kneeling in the shallow water, Chihiro pulled her clothes into the water after her and began to scrub them against the smooth stones lining the bottom of the river, getting them as clean as possible. Briefly, she regretted not bringing any spare sets of clothing, and then shook it out of her head. There was nothing she could do now about it. She had a sinking suspicion that there'd be no way of going home until this entire affair was over with.

She dropped the soaking bundle of clothing onto the bank, and, with a quick glance over at Haku to make sure he was still facing away, laid them out on a flat rock that had the sun shining directly on it; she could swim until it dried. Chihiro dropped back into the water with barely a splash, and sighed, running her hands over the moss that grew thickly on the riverbank. Something snorted from behind her, and Chihiro whirled around, the blue-green dagger in her hand, her brown eyes wide with terror. On the opposite bank, alarmingly close to the water, stood a magnificent black-haired stallion who was eyeing her curiously, as though she might be the strange apparition, not the horse himself. Slowly, she inched toward the horse, which stood still on the bank, long tail flicking away the flies that ventured too close.

Chihiro had the sudden impulse to just jump on the horse's back and ride out of this nightmare. She could easily get away; the horse looked terribly fast. Her hand stretched out to touch one of those muscled legs, and then she stopped, remembering what Haku told her earlier, "_If you see anything strange, either shout or run as fast as you can." _A horse appearing so suddenly did seem strange and right when she could have done with one. The horse rolled his eye, as though telling her to ignore Haku's warning, but then Chihiro caught something strange. The horse. . . there was something wrong with the horse. She might not be an expert on equine, but even she could tell that there was something wrong with it.

Slowly, Chihiro paddled away from the strange horse, her eyes never leaving the oddity. His long flowing mane wasn't of hair, as she had first thought, but of dark green kelp that limply lay against the horse's thick neck. There wasn't any horse that she knew that had such a strange mane. The horse stamped its front right hoof onto the moss and pebbles that were wantonly placed on the bank, as though commanding her to come back, and Chihiro grabbed her clothes and began to run as fast as she could away, terrified. Her naked-ness was the least of her worries now; she wanted to get back to Haku, and getting clothes on would just delay that.

Suddenly, the horse whinnied angrily, and she could hear the thunder of hooves and then the splash of water. Chihiro ran faster, the ache in her legs forgotten as adrenaline pumped through her veins at a mad rate. Haku looked up dreamily as she neared, the thunder of hooves bearing down on her. As soon as he saw what was behind her, Haku's mild expression melted away, replaced by something keener, dangerous. He threw himself forward and beyond Chihiro to face the enemy head on, his human body blurring for a moment before thrashing out into the long serpentine body that she knew so well to be his dragon form.

As the two beings clashed, Chihiro pressed herself against the rough bark of one of the trees, her eyes wide and a whimper escaping her parted lips. Both of her wide brown eyes were filled with unshed tears as Haku roared and slashed with long talons at the demon-horse, protecting her. In turn, the demon-horse lashed out violently with sharp hooves, whinnying like mad, keeping the dragon at bay. The stalemate only lasted for a few moments, though. Haku, stronger and more experienced, managed to hit the horse with his long tail, throwing it against a large tree. It made a pitiful sound, a cross between a whinny and a pained whimper before picking itself painfully up and galloping off, its kelp-mane flaring out behind it, running as if the hounds of hell were on its very hooves.

In a shatter of scales, Haku changed back, panting, blood dripping into his eyes from a wound on his forehead. He whirled around and ran to Chihiro's side, concern etched on every part of his face, "Did it do anything to you? Are you all right?"

Chihiro could only nod dumbly, trembling violently from head to foot. There were a lot of dangerous things that she had faced in her life, but nothing near as frightening as that horse was. It was no wonder that she saw no one else. With that running around, she would want to get as far away from this place as possible. Haku sighed, and collapsed onto the soft loam of the forest floor, "You scared me. You should have yelled."

Finally swallowing past the lump in her throat, "I-I didn't know it was dangerous that dangerous. It looked so much like a horse, and once it began to attack me. . . ."

Anger flashed on Haku's face for a moment, and then it was replaced by frustration, "There are no horses here. Every single creature here is out of mythology for humans. This place, everything in it, has things that don't exist in the human world. Every single tree is very different from the ones you're used to. In turn, we don't have a good deal of the things that humans have. Animals are at the top of that list."

It was true; Chihiro had yet to hear the familiar sounds of birds call in the forest tops. She had thought it was because of the strange schedule of the rising and set of the sun and that the birds were as thrown off as she was. As she relaxed against the bark to think, everything strange falling into their own snug places, she suddenly remembered what she had been doing before the strange demon-horse had attacked her. Haku seemed to realize the same thing when she did, and blushed, pivoting around instantly. "Put on some clothes."

Chihiro was already scrambling to get into her clothes before he even said anything, her face burning so much that she thought it might be on fire. Haku waited, patiently, as she threw on underwear, bra, pants and t-shirt with some difficulty; they were still heavy with river water. She grunted as the jeans refused to allow her leg through without a fight. She could see her friend's back twitch, and then he commented, "It sounds like you're being attacked by a kelpy again."

In a fit of uncharacteristic rage, Chihiro threw the wet ball of her socks at the back of Haku's head, her jeans finally on. "My clothes are wet!"

Haku dodged and turned, the corner of his mouth lifted in another half-smile. Amused, he tossed her socks back at her, "You're going to have to live with them like that. We'll reach a way station later on. There'll be clean clothes there for you and proper food. Had we not rested, we would have made it before dark."

Chihiro ignored him, pulling on her socks, and looking at him, "Can I have my pack?"

Haku paused and looked around, "Did we bring it with us?"

It was a long moment before Chihiro was able to look at her friend again. She walked behind him, muttering darkly to herself about stupid people who couldn't keep track of another's personal belongings. Haku didn't seem to care that he had forgotten the pack; it was nothing to him. He didn't have any humanity to remember. Chihiro slowly stewed in such distasteful thoughts as these, glaring at the back of the dragon's neck, until he suddenly turned, fixing her to the spot with his olive eyes, "If you must stare at me so, at least tell me why."

"You know why." She retorted, huffily.

He shrugged and turned away, "That pack was nothing. The only thing in there was stale sandwiches that would only go to waste and pollute the spirit world. It is best that we left the pack behind." He turned away and kept on walking, caught up in his own thoughts.

She stood there for a moment, hackles rising. He kept on walking without her, not looking back to see if she followed him. Her hand unconsciously touched the hilt of the green-blue blade that Haku had given her, thinking of throwing it away not for the first time that day. It was a burden upon her soul, surely. It didn't even help her against the kelpy. Haku suddenly disappeared between the closely growing trees, and she began to panic. Chihiro didn't want to be left in this wood with whatever was left here; the sun was already almost fully set. There could be so many things that were more active at night time. All sorts of creatures began to flash through her mind, reminding her of the stories she had heard of as a child. Things like vampires, werewolves and zombies. Creatures that rose from the shadows of the night to ravage the flesh of humans and turn their victims into more of their kind. And was she not a human? A lone human lost in the world of spirits; she would be the target of any hungry creature.

Chihiro took off in a panicked run, her eyes wide and filled with tears. Several times, she tripped over hidden tree roots, thinking of them, each time, as hands rising from the ground to grab at her ankles. One threw her into a prickly bush that scratched at her crossed forearms and face, clawing at her like a thousand little rodents, each trying to get a piece of her. When she loosed herself with a breathless squeak, she tried to run again. Two arms lunged out of the darkness, curling around her waist. One ghostly hand wrapped itself firmly over her mouth as she tried to scream. A voice whispered from the darkness as she tried to bite her captor's hand, expecting fangs to plunge into the throbbing artery in her neck at any moment, "Chihiro, there you are."

She froze, recognizing the voice. The two arms loosened around her, but the hand over her mouth didn't move, "Are you going to scream?"

Chihiro shook her head.

"Do you promise?"

For a moment, Chihiro considered shaking her head, and then nodded quickly. The hand let go, the arms disappearing back to the side of their owner. She turned, slowly, to face Haku. "Haku, I'm sorry I strayed before. . ."

He sighed, "No, it's no big deal. It's a good thing that you weren't eaten, though. Nighttime is especially dangerous when you're alone in the woods."

Chihiro planted both hands on her hips, tilting her head to the side and pursing her lips, "You could have told me that earlier. I wouldn't have stayed back had you done so."

"I didn't think you lacked common sense."

She considered hitting him again, but then calmed herself and settled for simply glaring at the dragon boy. "In case you haven't noticed, I've been pitched headfirst into a new world I know barely anything about anymore. It's been a long time since I was last here, at least in human terms. You probably don't even notice the years passing."

Something close to a grimace crossed his face, and it looked as if Haku wanted to tell her something. Then the moment passed and he sighed, "Maybe I don't. But what I do know is that you're getting cranky. The way station is right over there, or you can sleep out here with the kelpies. Whatever strikes your fancy." This time he waited until she answered.

Chihiro gripped his arm in a fearful impulse. "I'll go with you. Just. . .don't leave me alone here again."

Haku shook his head, a half-grin showing his teeth in a flash of white, before leading her away.

D/N: So, a bit of the beginning of Haku/Chihiro. I don't know why, but I think they'd make a cute couple. –blanks- Well, anyway. . .. Yeah, Kelpies are Scottish, in case you think you've heard of them before. They normally try and lure human females down into their watery lairs to devour them. . It almost got Chihiro. '

If anyone has any suggestions on mythical creatures I should use, put them in with a review along with a brief description. I'll try and use them, if I remember. –will start to use a notebook to write details down--

Read and review! Thanks!


	5. Chapter 5

D/N: Again, continuing on. Maybe we'll get somewhere this chapter. Don't count on it, though. ' Sorry. –is lazy- XP I'm figuring out the plot as I go along, and I don't have as much time as I hoped to have to devote to this, so. . . . Nyah.

Haku bowed to the congregation before him; he had left Chihiro, still resting, in the way house. "She's here."

A dog-like creature leaned forward, eyes twinkling with what seemed like hope, "Are you sure she's up to it?"

"Yes Lord Inari. She is."

There was a muttering among the assembled, and then a woman shrouded by a beautiful blue cloak added in;"Haku, you do know what the Children of Fenris want to do to us, correct?"

He nodded, and looked at the one who had spoken, "Lady Ishtar, all of you have told me many times over what they wish to do."

Strange heads turned to face the center of the room, where a being sat on the center of a throne-like object in a blanket of soft shadows. It, for no one knew of its name or gender, had begun to whisper to its translator, hurriedly. The man who served it nodded, listening carefully, and announced, "My Master wishes to say that a meeting with the chosen one should be arranged." It began to whisper again, and the man leaned in again. He straightened once more, blind eyes seeming to search the crowd, and then they came to rest on Haku, "She must make it to the meeting place alone, to prove her worth. After she makes it here, she will be equipped with all she will need."

Haku bowed, unable to disobey these powerful beings, "I shall inform her of her duty, then."

As one, the beings stationed around the room disappeared, leaving Haku to stand in the center, a sense of foreboding creeping upon him.

Meanwhile, Chihiro was enjoying the way house. Everything that she could possibly need was here; food, clean water and comfortable clothes. The atmosphere was homely, relaxing. Considering everything that had happened to her the past couple of days, she would have preferred to stay here for the rest of her time here. Haku had left for something he said he had to do; he had told her that she would be safe as long as she stayed within the fence. Of course, she had no desire to go into the forest once more. One run-in with a kelpy was more than enough for her. The soft bed enveloped her in a soft scent of vanilla and lavender, her cleaned hair spread out in a fan around her. Her brown eyes followed a small brown spider that scuttled busily across the ceiling, making webs, interested.

Haku had mentioned to her that the animals of this world weren't like the ones she knew, but this spider was familiar enough. She had seen spiders just like it scuttling from her in the garden back at home. There was nothing fearful about this one.

Chihiro frowned as the spider scuttled off, resting in the corner of the ceiling. The strange webs were oddly shaped, as though they were made to be some sort of pattern. Suddenly, Chihiro got what they were trying to portray; a message. 'Hello. Everything good?' was what she thought it said.

With a yelp, Chihiro fell off of the bed, and scrambled to the other side of the room, away from what seemed to be a demonically inclined spider. Haku might have told her that the way house was safe, yet there was something about an educated spider that didn't seem as safe as she had first thought. The spider scrambled across the ceiling, gathering up the web and dropping it onto the bed before lowering itself from the ceiling several feet before her. With a puff of yellow-orange smoke, the spider ballooned out and up, the actual process hidden from Chihiro by the smoke. As the smoke began to clear, Chihiro threw her back against the closest wall, scrambling for her dagger on the nightstand.

Instead of a giant spider, as Chihiro expected to see once the smoke cleared, stood a tall woman with flowing golden hair that reached down to the back of her knees, and a face that seemed to be pulled from a movie star's complete with ocean blue eyes and full red lips. Her body was covered by a strange toga-like dress, with a shawl overtop; she looked like someone from Ancient Greece. The woman smiled at Chihiro, a sympathetic expression on her face, "I'm sorry, my dear. It is painful for me to transform; I've only just recently discovered that I can."

"W-who are you?" Chihiro managed to ask, dagger held in her relaxed right hand.

"Arachnid. Cursed to be a spider for eternity." Arachnid looked saddened by this. She shook her head slowly, and brightened up in a moment, "Haku has instructed me to watch after you while he is gone. He'll be back by nightfall."

Chihiro looked suspiciously at her, "Where did Haku go?"

"He went to a meeting. Nothing has been told to me about what he does; that would be dangerous. Just because I don't like the Children very much doesn't mean that I cannot be tortured by them." Arachnid laughed, "Do you need anything?"

Deciding she liked this new spirit, Chihiro shrugged, "Would it be possible to get some food? I'm extremely hungry." It was very true. The only thing she had to eat so far was some strange spirit-fruit before getting a bath and dropping right to sleep.

"Of course. There's a meal already set up downstairs. Would you care to follow me?" Arachnid waited, going over to the brown-wood door.

Chihiro stood up, buckling the dagger to her side, just in case. In the few days that she had been in the way house, she still wasn't sure of what could happen; this world was too strange for Chihiro to be sure of anything. Arachnid saw this, and nodded at her, "That's wise of you to take that with you. There are magics here protecting us, of course, but something strong could easily tear them away."

Feeling suddenly cold, Chihiro followed her hostess down a flight of sturdy wooden stairs, the banister carved with realistic grape vines and even small, glistening grapes hanging from the vines themselves. The walls were painted a creamy white while different animals pranced across the walls; all of these animals Chihiro could easily name. They were creatures that she had often seen in her own backyard, bounding across the yard. A wave of homesickness struck her suddenly, and she remembered her mornings back at home. Her mother would be in the kitchen, making breakfast, while she wandered downstairs, sometimes carrying the messenger bag she used to carry her books in. Drawn to the kitchen by the wonderful scent of frying bacon and cooking eggs, she would find her father, already up and reading the newspaper, his own breakfast already being digested. She'd greet them both, and then. . . . then Chihiro came face to face with a wall.

She yelped in pain as her forehead connected squarely with the wall; in her reminiscing, she had failed to notice that there was a wall where her house didn't have one. Arachnid peered out at her from the kitchen, "What happened?"

Chihiro rubbed the red spot on her forehead, telling the older woman frankly, "I decided to get acquainted with the wall."

Arachnid shrugged, and went back into the kitchen, calling after her to Chihiro, "They don't talk much, if you're trying to be friends."

She stared at the doorway where Arachnid had disappeared; Chihiro had ment that simply as a joke. After a worried glance at the wall she had just run into, she darted into the kitchen, not wanting to find out any more of the way house; it was bad enough she was suspicious of walls.

Spread out on the kitchen table were strange foods that Chihiro had never dreamed to exist. Platters of strange fruits, carved up and artfully arranged graced the edges of the table, while in the center sat the largest bird-like creature that she had ever seen. It looked chicken-like, but no chicken that Chihiro had ever even heard of were that big. Pointing to the 'chicken', Chihiro asked Arachnid, "What is _that_?"

"Hmm, I think that's the 'Bakbakwakanooksiwae'."

"The what?"

"Bakbakwakanooksiwae."

Both females looked at each other for a long time, Chihiro's gaze incredulous while Arachnid looked puzzled by the look she was receiving. "What? That's what it's called."

"Say it one more time." Chihiro told her, wondering what kind of sick person came up with such a name.

"Bakbakwakanooksiwae." Arachnid told her, pronouncing it slowly, as one might to a child. "Of course, Haku's mentioned this to me. You're not a spirit and you don't know anything about the creatures." She began to carve up the bird, putting things onto a plate for Chihiro. As the girl started to eat, Arachnid told her, "The Bakbakwakanooksiwae was taken from a Canadian man. It's a giant man-eating bird that lived high in the mountains of Canada, highly celebrated, you know."

Chihiro choked on the bit of meat she was working on as soon as she heard 'man-eating'. Despite her amusement in hearing it's name, she'd rather not eat something that might make her a cannibal in the process, "What?"

"It's a man-eating bird from-"

"No, I mean; has this one eaten any humans?"

Arachnid laughed, "Where would it get the humans? These bakbakwakanooksiwae eat spirits. They had to adapt because there are no humans here."

Calming down, Chihiro resolved not to ask her hostess anything about the food she was eating; it was better not to know. Both females spent a quiet lunch, Arachnid mostly watching the girl eat while firing questions every once in a while.

After lunch, and another bath, Chihiro waited in her room. She could hear Arachnid downstairs, working on the loom that was set up in the corner of the family room. Night was beginning to descend upon the land already; Arachnid had said that Haku would come home by nightfall. For the first time that day, Chihiro realized how lonely she was without her dragon friend; he brightened up her day even if he didn't talk all that much. Her two brown eyes scanned the horizon, searching for her friend, as the sun set faster and faster. What she saw next dazzled her strained eyes. A phoenix, its own miniature sun, flared up from the woods, and circled above the treetops while the sun faded. The fire that danced along the wings of the firebird sparked off into the air like the tail of a firework, yet didn't set the trees aflame. It only descended back to the depths of the forest when the sun had fully set.

A ghost of a grin touching her face, Chihiro closed the window; she wouldn't be able to see Haku in the dark. From the doorway, a voice told her, "Phoenixes are beautiful, aren't they?"

Chihiro whirled around, shocked. Haku stood in her doorway, long-ish hair in his face. He frowned at her, and motioned to the chairs, "We have to talk."

D/N: And you won't find out what they're talking about until next chapter! I love phoenixes.

Ah, to explain the Bakbakwakanooksiwae. That was best part of writing this; that name. Nyahaha. It's an actual mythical creature. A giant man-eating bird that is supposed to be from Canada. BAKBAKWAKANOOKSIWAE! It sounds like some weird curse or something. I wonder how one'll pronounce that out loud? XD

Arachnid is a character from . . . . Greek/Roman mythology. . I can't remember! I'm sorry! All I know is that she challenged Minerva to a weaving contest, got her ass kicked by her, and she was doomed to be a spider the rest of her life. The first of spiders. Sowwy. Someone can correct me if they want.

So, you know the drill: Read and review!

Thanks! –wanders off, contemplating how to say 'bakbakwakanooksiwae'-


	6. Chapter 6

D/N: Mmm, Another chapter. I'm having fun! Hehehe. So, now the plot deepens. Mwahaha.

Ah, yes, and maybe you'll see some familiar characters here. Maybe. It depends on if I get an opening to throw them in. Nyahahaha.

Chihiro, thrown off for a moment, stammered, "H-haku! When did you get back?"

"Only a few moments ago, but that isn't the major concern for tonight." He motioned to the chairs once more, "Come, sit. You'll want to. Arachnid has gone home for the night, and don't worry; she won't say anything."

Hesitating for a moment, she stood there, hand on the shutters. Haku took a seat, and watched her with those level olive eyes until she finally let go of her death grip upon the wood, and jerkily walked over to him, sitting stiffly on the other chair. Something wasn't right; he looked like he had before, when Yubaba still controlled him. "What's wrong?"

Haku's frown deepened, as though deep in thought, and then he nodded, "What's wrong is what I have to tell you. I'm not happy about the fact that they have chosen me as their messenger b-"

"Who are 'they'?" Chihiro interrupted, suddenly not wishing to get to the bottom of this; she didn't want to know. All she did want to know was how she could get home.

Looking annoyed, the dragon boy told her, "Fine, I'll tell you. You know how in the spirit realm, the Children of Fenrir took the mythical creatures from the minds of men?" He waited until Chihiro nodded, showing that she remembered, and continued, "They also took the Gods and Goddesses people dream of. The Children thought they could control them, perhaps gain control over mortals, if need ever came that they needed to move there, but their plan backfired again. Who they took was too diverse for them to control; they formed their own consul eventually.

"Now, the Children are devising a plan to get rid of them. They're much more intelligent than the creatures, so they gathered together to form their own plan to get rid of them." Haku took a deep breath, "This plan must be entirely engaged by _you_."

Chihiro stared at him, suddenly feeling light headed. Dizzily, she asked, "Why can't they do it themselves?"

"Because they can be seen by the Children of Fenrir! You are invisible to them and know of the spirit realm, even if just a little. The little that you do know will help you tremendously, or so I am told."

Haku sat back, and allowed Chihiro to think. She was still light headed, and the edge of her vision was beginning to grow fuzzy. Before, in the cave in the woods, Haku had told her she would have to help them, but she didn't think that the time would come so quickly, and that she'd be the only one. Then her mind cleared as she thought of something; Haku never said she'd be doing it alone. "Haku?" The boy looked at her quizzically. "Will I be doing this alone?"

He bit his lip, and nodded once, "But understand this; if someone else gets involved, they'll be seen and die. If you go alone, then no one will die."

Again, the dizziness overtook her, but she fought it off. Finally, Chihiro asked, "There's more, isn't there. . ." It wasn't a question.

Another brief nod, and then Haku told her, "There's more to undermining the children than just getting past them, or sneaking around invisible. You'll have to do something, but no one has told me the details yet. All I know is that you'll have to prove yourself."

"How?"

"By getting to the palace of the gods and goddesses without my or any of their help save for the guide they will be sending."

Chihiro looked down at her bare feet, and wiggled her toes slightly, wondering if she was still asleep. This all was so strange and thrown at her so suddenly. "Is- Is it dangerous?" She looked back up at Haku's face, wanting to see his expression when he answered, hoping to learn something from it.

Haku's face remained eerily blank as he told her, "Extremely. I'm not allowed to tell you, no matter how much I wish to. You're going to have to get through them yourself. All that I can tell you is that you'll be forced to the limits of your mental and physical capability. Judging from how well you do during the trip, the consul will decide if you're ready to take on the Children of Fenrir."

"And if I don't do well?" She whispered, afraid of finding out.

"If you don't do well, you'll be. . ." He swallowed, "Killed."

Feeling as if her heart has just stopped, Chihiro froze. She tried asking why, but her voice wouldn't work. Her brain began to feed her images of how she could be killed, impaled upon a sword, drowned, burned, eaten alive, poisoned. . . The list went on and on. She shivered, and curled up in her seat, arms wrapped around her calves protectively.

Haku's expression changed momentarily, a mix of sympathy, his pain and sadness, but it only lasted for a moment. It faded soon enough, to be replaced by the blank expression that normally sat upon his face, "Chihiro. . . You know I would have never agreed to this had I known you would be the one that would come to their attention."

Chihiro whispered, face buried in her arms, "Go away, Haku."

"Chi-"

"Go away!" She cried out, flinging out an arm before her, tears flying off of her face in a spray, "Just leave me alone." Chihiro turned around, and went back to the window, hand resting on the wooden panels of the shutter.

Haku stood, one hand stretched out, as if to stop her. It feel woodenly back down to his side, and he sighed, looking at her shivering back longingly before leaving.

As soon as she heard the door close behind her friend, Chihiro let the tears burst from the dam she had set on them. It all was too much, too soon. She had just barely gotten used to the fact that the spirit realm had gone through so many changes, and now this? Considering what she had to do, she'd most definitely die. There was no way she could make it on her own in the wild; a simple run in with a kelpy had nearly gotten her trampled to death. Probably, from what she had heard about the Children of Fenrir, the kelpy was a paltry threat compared to them.

The purple hair band, which she had wrapped around her wrist, suddenly sparkled magically, pricking her skin lightly to get her attention. Chihiro touched it gently with her forefinger, shocked. She had forgotten about the friends she had made in this world, friends that were truer than any friend she had made in the human world. They were here, and she could only imagine what the Children had done to them, including Haku; she had seen none of her other friends yet.

Running a finger across the finely crafted band, she sighed, rolling the knot between her thumb and forefinger. Inside, she didn't want to die, she didn't want to go on this mission to save the spirit realm. She would have rather stayed home and slept in her bed, eating the food that her mother made for her, not using man eating birds or anything. Yet, what overpowered the instinct not to die was the one that felt as if she had to protect her friends from dying. She'd rather die for them than have them die because she refused to help.

Chihiro raised the band to her lips and pressed it against them gently, praying that everyone was still safe, that they hadn't run afoul of the Children just yet. She would do all that she had to do to protect them, even if it ment risking her life. Scrubbing her face clear, a resolve that she hadn't had earlier backing her, she went to the door.

Walking quietly out into the hall, Chihiro called, "Haku? Are you there?" No one answered her call. Haku had never told her where he was sleeping; she had simply assumed that he had a place. Finally looking around, she saw that the bedrooms that were on this floor were all empty and dusty; none of them had been used for a long time from what she could see. The time that she had spent sleeping and resting was time that Haku had been up and about doing whatever that he did now.

She went down the steps, her hands passing absentmindedly across the murals of the animals. On the banister, the grapes had changed into flowers; Arachnid must have done something to them earlier, when Chihiro had been waiting for Haku to return. There was a single light on downstairs, coming from the living room.

Chihiro went to the doorway, and saw Haku sitting in one of the seats, a lit candle sitting next to him while he gazed absently out the single large window in the room. He seemed to be deeply contemplating something, and probably would have heard Chihiro call him earlier had he not been so deep in thought. She stood in the doorway for a moment, suddenly nervous; she had yelled at him earlier when he had only been concerned for her. Finally pulling together the courage, she called, "Haku?"

He looked up at her, shocked, "Chihiro! Are you okay?"

She nodded quickly, and bowed to him, "I'm sorry for yelling."

Haku stood, and made her face him, "No, you don't need to apologize. I should be the one saying sorry to _you_. I had no right in telling you such awful things, especially when you're so exhausted."

Chihiro blushed, "It is my fault. Haku, I've thought about it and. . . . I'll do it."

"You will?"

"Of course!" She was suddenly angered by his skeptical tone. "I've thought about it. Giving up now would be like telling everyone I've made friends with here to die or be caught up in some spiritual war which I don't want to be a part of." She took a deep breath, and looked him in the eye, "When will I start?"

The half-smile was on his face once more, "In a week, Chihiro. Thank you." He kissed her forehead, and left the room, his pale cheeks lightly colored by a blush.

D/N: Aren't I evil? A little more Haku/Chihiro! They'd make such a cute couple. Nyahahaha. This was more of an explanatory chapter than anything; there'll be more action later. Fwahahaha.

By the way, people, I'll take any suggestions you have. Nyah.

Well, read and review! Thanks!


	7. Chapter 7

D/N: So, I'm back again. Mm-hmm. With a new chapter packed with Spirity goodness. (That's not even a word.) XP

Disclaimer: I don't own Spirited away. Plain and simple. I don't know why I put this anymore.

For Chihiro, the next week seemed to just pass her by in a blur. She barely remembered anything except for fragments; Arachnid telling her story of how she angered a powerful goddess, and was turned into a spider for her foolishness. Haku giving her a sword with the same special blade as the dagger and then the lessons at night with the same dragon boy, lessons that he said could save her life. All of it seemed to be wrapped in a dream-like quality, as if none of it had happened in reality.

Now, the night before she had to leave, it all seemed to be driven home on what might happen to her on the trip. Haku had given up on comforting her a little while ago; he had finally realized that she barely reacted to what he thought was comfort. One of her cold hands rested on the hilt of the sword, as if she expected an attack at any moment, the dagger belted to the side of the sword, the end of the sheath digging into the upper part of her thigh. Chihiro's eyes had changed from their normally dreamy cast to one of fearful determination; she would fulfill her task no matter what, for death awaited her either way she chose. The clothes that Haku had got her, that he had told her would be good to fight in, lay forgotten on the end of her neatly made bed; she wore the clothes she brought from home with her, the clothes that seemed to comfort her the most.

Haku had told her, when she had asked, that she would be expected to leave once the first rays of sunrise touched the horizon, when the first phoenix of the day cast it's fiery light up on the treetops. He would not be allowed to talk to her once that happened; the ones that she was going to meet had forbidden him to do so. Already, she could see the sky starting to lighten; she would only have a few more moments. Standing abruptly with a sudden chill passing down her spine, Chihiro yanked on her shoes, and ran down the hall, peering quickly into each empty bedroom, running past as soon as she realized there was no one there. Frantically, wanting to say one last word to her friend, she nearly slipped on the steps; the sword had gotten entangled between her legs for a moment. With a snarl, she pulled it free and was downstairs, shouting for Haku almost desperately, her shock thrown off in one wild thought; _I might never see him again! _

Chihiro found the dragon boy standing quietly in the garden, staring at the horizon, waiting for the sun to rise. He didn't turn as she finally stumbled noisily into the garden, disturbing whatever bugs lived amongst the vegetables and flowers. She stood there, panting, and cried out, "Haku! I- I just want to say, thank you!"

He half-turned so that only a stark profile was visible to her, his features hidden by shadows. "You have nothing to thank me for, Chihiro."

"You've taken care of me, showed me what to do, and all I've done was be spoiled, a brat."

Haku turned back to face the horizon, answering her, "You've done enough to redeem yourself." His voice was growing fainter, as if the distance between the both of them were growing, despite the fact that they stood nearly side by side. Dawn was fast approaching, Chihiro realized. Not even noticing anything happening, Haku had continued to talk, "You were with me, you talked to me. That's more than enough. Chihiro I - "

She didn't catch the last part of what he was going to say; the sun had begun to rise. Already, the flare of a phoenix had burst from the woods like a rogue ray of sunlight. Haku had frozen, as if he had been turned into a living statue. Chihiro walked around so that she could see his face, and stared, shocked. His mouth was half-open, as if in the middle of saying something; this must be the only way to keep him from telling her anything. Turning around to face the sun, Chihiro stood there, uneasy. Distinctly remembering that there was supposed to be a guide to help her to the palace, she searched around, going around to the front.

Out front was nothing but a glowing orb, it floated only a few feet off of the ground, but had an important air about it. Chihiro hesitated, wondering if this was the guide that she was supposed to have. It didn't look like much; she was expecting something more human, somehow. Still curious, she went up to it, and asked, slowly, "Are you to lead me to the palace?"

The glowing orb dimmed for a moment, and then a voice emerged from the depths, a guttural voice that reminded her of the scrape of sandpaper across wood. "You are Chihiro?"

She nodded, and the orb told her, "You are to come with me, then. I will not stop until night falls, so you must keep up with me. If you fall behind, then you shall have to find your way on your own." Without looking back at her, it began to float off at an even pace.

Chihiro couldn't look back to get one last look at Haku; she had to keep the glowing orb in her sights as it began to move through the deep darkness of the forest.

D/N: Eeeeh. This wasn't such a good chapter, sorry. I'm feeling unimaginative at the moment. Hahaha. Yeah, I'm tired too. . ' I hope this isn't too crappy. It should pick up after this chapter, so stick with me, okay? I'll edit it as soon as possible, which will probably take a few months. . . . Heh. XD

You know the drill: Read and review, and please, flame to your heart's content. Sometimes, you learn things from them. :3


	8. Chapter 8

D/N: Mmm, back again! This chapter, I plan to get things moving! YEEHAW! Hahaha. Man, I'm tired. . Yes, I act like this when I'm tired, so there. I'm also avoiding my homework. . Jeez. Anyway, continuing on from last time. Let's do a little recap for those of you too lazy to go back. Chihiro has just left on her quest to find the palace of the Gods with a glowing thing that could care less what happened to her. Hehehe, foreshadowing much?

-cries- It's already chapter 8! So far into the story. . . don't ask me how many chapters I plan to make this; probably fifteen, around, but you never know. .

---------

Chihiro stumbled over a hidden tree root and bit back a swear as her toes throbbed in pain, bleeding in her shoes, yet she didn't dare falter. They had been going for a long time and Chihiro had learned in that time that anything she said would be completely ignored by her guide. It continued adamantly upon its course no matter what happened, and, after a while, the human decided that she really did hate the thing.

Both of her knees ached from numerous scrapes and bleeding cuts, her hands ached from trying to catch her when she had tripped so many times. Sweat dripped down her spine, between her shoulder blades, and between her breasts; her forearm had taken care of what threatened to overspill into her eyes and blind her yet the rest itched madly as it stuck against her skin. The sword beat a rhythmic pulse upon her leg as she walked, serving as a constant reminder that there would be danger, there had to be. These woods had nearly killed her before, and Haku had been close to her at the time.

Suddenly, Chihiro tripped again over what she hoped was another root root. She screamed as she fell, and the ground gave way from under her feet. Dirt flew into her face and open mouth as she slid down a tunnel-like path, both of her arms thrown up in front of her face to protect herself from the small pebbles and splinters of roots that got in her way, unable to stop her movement with straining heels.

She was rammed full force into a wall of hard-packed earth and rock, and cried out in pain, her insides feeling as if they all had been hammered constantly by spikes. Sprawled out in a darkened place that smelt musty and of soil, the only good thing Chihiro could find about her current situation was that she had stopped moving. Sitting up gingerly, her head came in contact with a low ceiling. She was thrown flat onto her back once more with another moan, the hand that felt in better condition instantly rubbing the spot that was rammed by the stone. Her fingers came away sticky with what she half-hoped was blood.

The next time Chihiro tired to sit up, she did it slowly, one hand feeling for the roof. Assessing her bodily condition, she reasoned that she wasn't too badly injured; merely sore. Her hands stretched out before her, feeling around her, wondering where she was. Above her was a crumbly ceiling of packed soil and tree roots; there was no way she could try and dig her way out. Before her, she felt another crumbly wall, and below her, a floor of cobblestones. The edges of the stones felt worn down to her questing finger, as if it had once been frequently used as a road or a footpath at one point. Getting on her hands and knees, she began to follow the path, seeing no light to guide her and having no other choice anyway.

She crawled on and on, realizing that there was an open path here. The height of the tunnel began to increase as she went along, as if someone had removed dirt enough for a person a foot shorter than her and never finished their task. As her excitement grew, she remembered the glowing orb, and reality came crashing back down on her again. Stopped in the middle of the dark tunnel, her fears began to grow into an almost wild panic. The new environment had distracted her from the plain fact that she had lost her guide in the spirit realm; she probably couldn't make it without the stupid glowing thing, no matter how much she had hated it. If she couldn't make it, then she couldn't help her friends, she wouldn't have the hope that had sparked within her earlier, despite her best efforts to keep it away.

Chihiro bit back her tears as they threatened to overspill her lids; it was a bad time to be pessimistic. She would cry when she could see sunlight, or some sort of light, again. When she could see her own hands in front of her face; she didn't want to suffocate within this blackness from a lack of fresh oxygen. With that thought in mind, she pressed on, her mind a merciful blank.

She didn't know how long she was crawling except for the fact that her knees and palms ached from having her weight pressing upon them for such a long time. The tips of her fingers felt scraped and worn from bumping into unseen obstacles in the darkness. And, yet, she didn't pay any attention to them; she could see light.

Up ahead in the tunnel, a small pinpoint of light, one she thought she had been hallucinating, was growing larger with every few inches she crawled. It was yellow-orange and flickered, the sign of firelight, not sunlight. Chihiro couldn't help but cry out with joy, and began to move faster, ignoring her pain, only focusing upon the light, her last grasp of sanity in what seemed an insane world of shadows.

The source of the light revealed itself to be a lantern, hung on a long metal pole that stood next to the wall, the lantern itself made of black iron. A cheery little flame brightly illuminated the tunnel for only a few feet radius. Chihiro's arms wrapped around the pole, and she curled her body up around it, crying from both relief, anger, fear and sheer exhaustion. She didn't look up until a black shadow fell upon her.

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D/N: -is amused- My keyboard looks like I decided to murder someone before typing this. . . hahaha! Man, I need to stop painting with my fingers. . . Ah, it's too amusing to stop. :3

Anyway, forget about my bloody keyboard. Mmm, I've been getting writer's block so often, I'm not sure when the next chapter is going to be produced. ' Sorry, but I've just been so drained. . . that's why I ask for anyone's ideas! You don't have to give me one, but they're welcomed. Heh, yeah, I know: I'm pathetic.

So, read and review! And keep me warm with those flames. . .


	9. Chapter 9

D/N: Thank you all for your patience! w And a special thank you to all of my reviewers! A special thank you to blackXheart and Wolf of the Blue Moon for all of their comments! And Morgaine Queen of Fairies for getting the first one.

Ideas are welcome, but I don't mind if you can't think of anything.

Well, onward! 3

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Twin points of steel lanced down to grab onto her shoulders, gripping in tight. The breath caught in Chihiro's throat, tears springing unbidden to her eyes with the terrible force of her fear. Before she could drag herself from the grip of this new being, she found her entire body frozen stiff, only her eyes free to move as they pleased, flickering around what part of the cave she could see, hoping for any indication of what might be waiting in the shadows to rip her heart from her and to devour it; to make her a permanent member of this world forever. Chihiro focused on her mouth, desperately trying to open it and let loose a sound, any sound. Maybe there was something here that would help her get away.

A breath of warm, moist air brushed past her ear. The fine hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as she tried to squirm away, wanting to scream and vomit at the same time, but both unavailable to her. Following the breath came a voice, one that surprised her, "Sen. Calm down." It was craggly like the speaker was talking through a mouth full of rocks, but it had the gentle underlying feeling of a breeze. Suddenly, the hostile enviroment around her changed; the iron of the lamp, which looked so cold and forboding, now seemed like a welcoming avatar of hope and survivial for her. Around her, the cave a shelter from everything outside that might spell an evil end to her. When her mind relaxed, so did her body; muscles came loose and adrenline that pumped her heart to an almost insane rate now faded back, "Granny. . . "

"Oh, Sen, dear Sen. Let me get a good look at you, girl." Zeniiba turned Chihiro around slowly, her large blue eyes filled with unshed tears. What used to be a wealthy-looking and healthy old woman she had known before now stood someone slightly younger, her blue dress a layer of patched together rags worn beyond much recognition. Before Chihiro could say anything, Zeniiba had her engulfed in her arms, pulled tight against a body that's seen too many lean times; bones and flesh were all she could feel.

Chihiro, unable to take it any longer, let loose a torrent of tears upon the older woman's shoulder, "Granny! Oh, Granny! I've missed you so much. . . ." The rest of her words were swallowed in hitching sobs.

They stood in a welcoming embrace for a little while more before Zeniiba suddenly pulled away, face drawn and wary. "We must go from this place, Sen. There are wyrms here that guard the tunnels; they are for neither side, as long as they can keep their home safe. I don't want to be caught out when they come by on patrol."

"B-but. . . what are the wyrms?"

Already, Zeniiba was dragging Chihiro along beside her, down a confusing twisting and turning path. Before them quickly hopped the lamp, the squeal of metal on metal gone now; it had been properly oiled since her last visit. "No time to talk now; don't you hear that?"

Chihiro tugged on the arm that Zeniiba had grabbed; already it was growing numb from being jerked constantly around. Then she heard it, above the sound of both of them running; it was the deep rumbling of something very large fast approaching, and it sounded like it was going in the same direction that they were. Not thinking about what it might be, only knowing it sounded large, she sped up to a sprint; she didn't want to be caught by whatever chased them.

Zeniiba pulled to the side suddenly, taking the young girl with her, the lamp already in before them. She pressed a thin, bony finger to wrinkled lips and whispered, "Let's go; don't look back at it. It'll sense your eyes on it."

Following Zeniiba's instructions, she followed the old sorceress deeper into what she realized was more of a crack in the wall than any tunnel. Perhaps widened by the witch's magic so that only human-like creatures could pass through. Behind her came the rumble and snarl of something large and nasty; the entire tunnel below her feet jumped and quaked as the beastie passed by quickly. Loose shale from the top of the crack showered down on the three of them, loudly banging off of the metal of the lamp. After a moment, the sound and rumbling quickly faded as the beast moved on. Zeniiba gestured to her, "We're almost there."

It wasn't long before both were suddenly enveloped with a soft golden light and then they were in a bright, glistening cave. Planted in the walls seemed to be a strange fungus, glowing with every color imaginable; the gold was simply the rows of yellow fungus growing all around the mouth of the tunnel. The lamp hopped before them, going to stand in one of the darker corners, the flame in the candle dimming slightly. Chihiro stared around her, slack-jawed that such a thing still existed in this 'new' world. She looked back at Zeniiba, "What _is_ this place?"  
"It is known as the Den of Vitality. Before the Children came here, this was a secret and hidden place. It still is, from all the wrong people, but they're searching for it." She sighed, "There isn't any other here that I have been able to find to trust the secret to.

"But you, I know what you need." Zeniiba pulled Chihiro away from the door, "Rest here for an hour or two before you go back to the surface world; we will talk, trade stories and the like, but you'll need to rest." She steered the girl away.

D/N: Short post to get everyone interested again.

Read and review, please:3 All forms of critisisms are welcomed. Except for anything along the lines of 'u suk'. I've already made clear that, so there's no need to be a repeater. 3


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